Whether by Snail Mail or E-Mail, Doctors Rate the Same

Examining the validity and usefulness of the Internet as a tool for collecting and providing health information

During 2000 and 2001, researchers at the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT, no longer in existence) conducted a series of surveys to evaluate the feasibility of using Internet-based surveys of consumers to develop quality ratings of physicians, hospitals, health plans and other health care providers.

The surveys:

Compared responses from consumers who rated individual physicians and practices in a mailed survey with responses from those who rated the same physicians and practices via the Internet.

Assessed various methods of recruiting consumers to participate in such surveys.